Shutdown gig lives to billing

Trust Khosa

EPIC!

This aptly sums up the much-hyped “Shut Down” gig held at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) last weekend.

The gig ushered revellers into the festive season mood with vintage performances taking centre stage.

With superstar Jah Prayzah, evergreen Freeman, lady of the moment Feli Nandi, Killer T, and Master H performing under one roof, what can one expect from the quintet?

For Gateway Stream Media, a subsidiary of the Rainbow Tourism Group, the event was a triumph as they put together a marvellous show. 

It was pleasing to note that Freemans’ evolution was now paying off. He has transformed himself from a lousy chanter who used to perform using backtracks to a modern-day performer. He has assembled a live band which understands him very well.

In Zimdancehall, Freeman, Nutty O and Winky D are the only big names who are now playing with live bands.

As for Feli Nandi, the red-hot diva hardly disappoints. At HICC, she represented the girl-child with pride.

Being the only female artiste on the line-up, she proved why she is on top of the game.

Buoyed with a rich catalogue of songs like “Mubayei”, “Mufudzi Wemombe” and “Muti Watemwa” fans were guaranteed fun.

 Killer T, who boasts of a rich playlist of sing-along tracks like “Kana Ndanyura”, “Siyana Nazvo” and “Takangodaro”, always made his job easier on stage.

Ladies squealed at him as he was in his usual best.

Not to be outdone was Master H, who is arguably, the most promising Zimdancehall artiste in the country.

The chanter, who has featured at big events this year, proved that hard work pays.

It’s also hard to believe that it was that boy raised in Murewa who came to Harare and made an impact in a short space of time.

Credit goes to his management team which has made sure that he sticks to his job.

As for Jah Prayzah, who was no doubt the major draw-card at the event, he simply put the icing on the cake. Love or loathe him, Jah Prayzah is no doubt one of Zimbabwe’s main treasures in showbiz.

He showed his class. The 37-year-old, who treats the stage as the CEO’s office, was in his usual best.

Meanwhile, Suluman Chimbetu and Diana “Mangwenya” Samkange had a successful double at The Yard (formerly bar Rouge) which is located at LongCheng Plaza in Belvedere, Harare. Mangwenya, who has transformed herself from an urban grooves artiste to become a mbira player, was her usual best.

As for Suluman Chimbetu, he also sampled news songs at the event.

He went on to play his late father Simon “Chopper” Chimbetu’s songs.